"If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern." ― William Blake / the Ganges originates at the feet of Lord Vishnu / every living being can purify his mind by touching it's water / Dhruva accepts the Ganges on his head and feels devotional ecstasy / the Santa Rishis keep the water on their heads and practice Bhakti / the water flows thru the heavens / Lord Shiv...
May 26, 2023•54 min•Ep. 1054
"There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception." – Aldous Huxley / perception is the combination of our thoughts, beliefs, opinions, and awareness / what we consume creates our filters / I am an atomic particle of consciousness - Krishna is the infinite conscious entity - this world is a house of correction meant to reform my tendency to remain absent in our relationship / wear the lens of divinity / We Are Bugs, Living Under a Desk in a Ghetto /...
May 25, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 1053
when Krishna is pleased, everyone's pleased / we are in debt to all those who've selflessly loved us / treat your guests like God / Krishna saves Draupadi / in kirtan, don't worry about pleasing the crowd - just please Krishna and everyone is pleased automatically / close your eyes and sing to Krishna / Krishna saves Kaustubha / Krishna always saves us Code: wisdomsages for 20% off vanischool.com
May 24, 2023•59 min•Ep. 1052
Audrey Hepburn on beauty and poise / Bhagavad-gita on poise / real inclusivity means looking to Paramatma / find the good in others and fan that flame / gratitude vs entitlement / Bhakti waters the root of the tree / tasmin tuṣṭe jagat tuṣṭam - when Krishna is pleased, everyone is pleased / Bhakti addresses all social maladies / Bhakti satisfies all the devas / Bhakti touches both the saintly and the thugs / becoming accustomed to having our mind dwell in fundamental level thought SB 5.15.13 / B...
May 23, 2023•54 min•Ep. 1051
there will always be people who will criticize - so just do the right thing / dial into your offering / Krishna anxiety - purchase it at any price / a leader's first responsibility is to unite / how a leader must satisfy the citizens / how a leader satisfy women / how a leader must satisfy the earth / how a leader must satisfy the wise / how a leader must satisfy other leaders SB 5.15
May 22, 2023•54 min•Ep. 1050
How do I gain that 100% faith / What's the relationship between vijnana and bhakti? / Can our spiritual attachments degrade back to material attachments if we are not careful of our intentions?
May 21, 2023•56 min•Ep. 1049
How to keep faith when negative emotions haunt us? / How to let go of negative habits? / How does Kaustubha organize his day?
May 20, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 1048
Joni Mitchell's vision of duality / the ups and downs of lowercase L love / "I should've listened to the Swami." / the Shakers didn't lose (in their spiritual investment) / Joni brings the Jnana, Pete Seeger brings the Bhakti / we all feel melancholy till we turn and face "The Sun" / This world churns us / the power of Krishna's flute / Krishna churns the hearts of the Gopis
May 19, 2023•55 min•Ep. 1047
Are we was so focused on achieving that we're missing some great point about life? / Mind Experiment: We are ants in an alien ant farm. Are we learning the lessons we're meant to learn, or just working aimlessly? / What good is speeding if you're heading the wrong direction? / The satisfaction of devotion makes material success and liberation seem insignificant / Bharata's last prayer as a deer / "happiness arose out of all I didn't want or need, not all I did. - Pico Iyer SB 5.14.44-46...
May 18, 2023•55 min•Ep. 1046
all material success is time bound / Bhakti is the path of Garuda, material success is the path of the flies / the depth of Bharata's renunciation / a little devotional service rendered sincerely is a permanent asset SB 5.14.41-43
May 17, 2023•55 min•Ep. 1045
"Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts." - Henry David Thoreau / Srimad Bhagavatam is the commentary on Vedanta Sutra, by the author himself / creating enmity and dying without achieving life's mission / all material success winds up in failure as long as we maintain the "I and Mine" illusion / turn down the volume of the ego and listen for Krishna's whisper / humility like darkness reveals the heavenly lights / you don't have to change your position, just purify your purpose SB 5.14.40-41...
May 16, 2023•53 min•Ep. 1044
if we cannot display wisdom, then we will clash like (legally blind moles) / when we are out of touch with our spiritual nature we are prone to misjudge intentions and exaggerate the dangers / at times we may have to live with an imperfect, untidy world / necessity knows no law / any sane person can understand that there's no happiness in the prison / saintly persons, who are friends to all living entities, have a peaceful consciousness
May 15, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 1043
The Avanti Schools are a family of state funded schools in the UK which draw from traditional Bhakti texts like Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam to foster in their students not only educational excellence but also character formation and spiritual insight. In this episode, Kaustubha interviews Navin Krishna Das (Nitesh Gor) the Chief Executive of Avanti Schools Trust.
May 14, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 1042
Can you share examples of women in Bhakti to follow - stories, authors, books, teachers, examples, etc? / How to get past self-loathing?
May 13, 2023•55 min•Ep. 1041
regard this fleeting world like this… / the 4 sights of Gautama Buddha, which led to his realization of the impermanence and the ultimate dissatisfaction of conditioned existence / sleep is eating up our time / people try to drag us down / we stay in this cage for just a little material happiness / wealth is chanchala / oh the self-loathing / the indefatigable wheel of time / pseudo svāmīs, yogīs and incarnations / we're running around like monkeys SB 5.14.20-33
May 12, 2023•57 min•Ep. 1040
consensual reality is significantly flawed / certainty is a mirage / security a delusion / the tyranny of the dull mind threatens / laughter is holier than piety / freedom is sweeter than fame / in the end it's love and love alone that really matters / we can't handle Krishna's opulences / everything we've got is meant to offered back / the cheap blessings of so-called sadhus and swamis / the pain of family squabbles / the pain of putting on all the social ceremonies SB 5.14.13-19
May 11, 2023•56 min•Ep. 1039
you can't beat the system -the laws break you / swinging on the pendulum of material enjoyment & renunciation / Bhakti transcends selfish concerns / This world is designed more for pain than it is for pleasure / Naked we come into this world and naked we go out. In the interim we falsely claim, "This is my…" / the intense suffering of being criticized / hate ages you / don't hate the assessor SB 5.14.9-12
May 10, 2023•55 min•Ep. 1038
Srimad Bhagavatam is the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic literature / "God does not float on your horizon, he sleeps in your substance. Vanity runs, love digs." - Gustave Thibon / "If you fly away from yourself, your prison will run with you." - Gustave Thibon / mirages and will-o'-the-wisps / we're chasing wealth, we're chasing sex, we're chasing a better home, but when we get there….poof / the materialist perpetually wanders in material existence, struggling to get the necessities of life /...
May 09, 2023•57 min•Ep. 1037
is this world heaven or hell? / it takes two eyes to see the truth of this world - material cynicism is one eye, spiritual optimism the other / when stereoscopic depth perception kicks in we understand what we're doing here / this world isn't meant to be a paradise, it's a university / try on the Bhagavatam's philosophy / human being on earth - it's a great opportunity / uncontrolled senses are plunderers / family members can be like Jackals / chasing the mirage / "at last, my love has come alon...
May 08, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 1036
Do you have any tools for bridging the gap between being aware and actually taking control of the mind and senses? / What is the meaning of this world's emotional rollercoaster? / Why do the deva's desire the human form of life? / What was Raghunath's hope behind his band Shelter?
May 06, 2023•59 min•Ep. 1035
the need to root out pride and cultural chauvinism / the devotion of Ida Straus / our mantras are a lifeline We're living on hopes piled on hopes / materially pessimistic, spiritually optimistic / neglect thoughts of being offended / what does lotus feet mean? / humbly serve the instructions of the great souls to see Krishna SB 5.13.21-26
May 05, 2023•56 min•Ep. 1034
On the occasion of the festival celebrating the appearance of Sri Nrisimhadeva the Lion like Avatara of Vishnu, Raghunath and Kaustubha discuss the stories and teaching of Nrisimhadeva and his boy devotee Sri Prahlada. https://youtu.be/R4xKn0w3WMM
May 04, 2023•53 min•Ep. 1033
a formula for producing pure thoughts / japa and kirtan are real silence / Jada Bharata reveals his true identity / there is no good investment in this material world / material enjoyment will break your heart / the sword of knowledge SB 5.12.14-16
May 03, 2023•54 min•Ep. 1032
"We've all got to stop just following our own little mouse trail…. People are out there doing bad things to each other… they've been dehumanized. It's time to take the humanity back... Without people you're nothing." - Joe Strummer / let's put spiritual knowledge back in the center / greed is going nowhere / you have to discipline yourself to find truth / the deepest spirituality is shared heart to heart / the transformative power of listening respectfully / let your heart go out to the worms / ...
May 02, 2023•57 min•Ep. 1031
"In the great teaching of the Vedas, there is no touch of sectarianism. It is of all ages, climbs, and nationalities and is the royal road for the attainment of the Great Knowledge." - Henry David Thoreau / no dogmatism - rather, question from all angles / step back and see how Vyasadeva is framing his message / Understand the progression in Vedic thought through hardcore - Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, Sick of it All, Shelter / Give your heart to a deeply realized soul SB 5.12.12...
May 01, 2023•57 min•Ep. 1030
Chaitanya Charan, a prolific author and speaker on Bhakti and Bhagavad-gita speaks with Kaustubha on two ends of a spectrum in spiritual practice - immersive/world-rejecting on one end, and inclusive/world affirming on the other, and the need to find the right balance. https://www.thespiritualscientist.com https://gitadaily.com
Apr 30, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 1029
How to explain Bhakti to Orthodox Jews? / Where does a queer man find a Bhakti community?
Apr 29, 2023•58 min•Ep. 1028
" the true joy in life: being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one – instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy" - George Bernard Shaw / we need a purpose to wake up for everyday / the Bhakti framework – we all share an eternal dharma of divine love - and we embrace and later let go of a series of temporary dharma's designed to uncover the eternal / This is how we explain God - ...
Apr 28, 2023•53 min•Ep. 1027
Bob Dylan on how we are bombarded by insulting and humiliating "wonder bread" music / are we insulting our true self? / although the universe may temporarily appear to be the truth, it ultimately has no real existence / nondual knowledge is the ultimate truth / nondual knowledge as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan SB 5.12.9-11
Apr 27, 2023•55 min•Ep. 1026
spiritual knowledge well applied facilitates social justice (rather than bypassing / seeing the world as illusion (spiritual perspective) grants relief from suffering / the world's a mess - water the root, not every leaf / this life is just a blip / our bodily existence is as unreal as the physical manifestation of any dream in the brains neurotransmitters / by understanding the original cause of different varieties, one can understand everything SB 5.12.7-8
Apr 26, 2023•57 min•Ep. 1025
